Monday, December 17, 2012

MEDIA ADVISORY: CAIR-St. Louis, ACLU to Announce Religious Bias Suit Against City, Taxicab Commission(ST. LOUIS, MO, 12/12/12) -- On Thursday, December 13, the St. Louis chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAR-St. Louis), the ACLU-EM and the Law Office of Drew C. Baebler will hold a news conference on the front steps of the 22nd Judicial Circuit Court of Missouri to announce the filing of a religious discrimination suit against the Metropolitan Taxicab Commission (MTC), the City of St. Louis and Whelan Security on behalf of a Muslim taxi driver. (Read more)WHEN: Thursday, December 13, 11 a.m.WHERE: Front Steps of 22nd Judicial Circuit Court of Missouri, 10 North Tucker Boulevard, St. Louis, Mo.CONTACT: CAIR-St.Louis Executive Director Faizan Syed, 314-330-2946,faizan@cair-stlouis.com

(OKLAHOMA CITY, OK, 12/12/2012) -- On Thursday, December 13, the Oklahoma chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-OK) will hold a news conference in Oklahoma City to call for an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) into alleged FBI harassment of Muslim Air Force veteran Saadiq Long, who recently returned to United States after being placed on a no-fly list while overseas.

Long alleges that since his return to Oklahoma, he and his family have been subjected to repeated unwanted encounters with federal law enforcement authorities, including detention at gunpoint. He and his sister are scheduled to appear at the news conference.

Following intervention by CAIR-OK, Long, a U.S. citizen and Air Force veteran living in Qatar, was recently allowed to return to the United States. He had been struggling to return home for six months after being denied boarding on previous flights to visit his terminally-ill mother.

CAIR, a Washington-based Muslim civil rights organization, has dealt with a number of similar cases nationwide in which Muslim citizens are prevented from returning to the United States or faced government coercion when seeking to return home.

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understandin